Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka advance to Australian Open semifinals

Roger Federer is turning back the clock and his scorching play has led to an unexpected spot in the Australian Open semifinals.

Federer continued to display that his injury ravaged 2016 season is behind him as he rolled to a 6-1, 7-5, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over Germany’s Mischa Zverev on Tuesday at Melbourne, Australia.

The 17th-seeded Federer will meet fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka in Thursday’s semifinals. The fourth-seeded Wawrinka cruised to a 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-3 victory over 12th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.

At 35 years, 174 days, Federer became the oldest man to reach the Australian Open semis since the legendary Arthur Ashe in 1978.

He needed just 92 minutes to dispatch Zverev, who sent top-seeded Andy Murray home earlier in the tournament. But Federer quickly displayed an upset wasn’t on the table by winning the first set in 19 minutes and dominating the match.

“I’m happy I played as well as I played,” Federer said afterward from courtside. “Never thought I’d play as well as I did here. I am still standing.”

Not much was expected of Federer due to the back and knee injuries that derailed him last season. He was away from the tour for six months while recuperating and his name wasn’t anywhere near the forefront of Australian Open contenders.

His own expectations didn’t include being alive in the semifinals.

“Well, not play Stan in the semis, I’ll tell you that,” Federer said. “I thought maybe win a few rounds.”

The match with Wawrinka will be his 41st career Grand Slam semifinal. Federer, who has won four Australian Open titles, hasn’t won a Grand Slam title since Wimbledon in 2012.

The higher-seeded Wawrinka may suddenly be considered the underdog when he takes the court on Thursday.

“When I step on the court, doesn’t matter who I play,” Wawrinka said. “I know what I have to do if I want to win. Against Roger, it’s always special because he’s so good. He’s the best player of all-time. He has an answer for everything.”

Wawrinka had the answers against Tsonga and will appear in the Australian Open semifinals for the third time in four years.

Wawrinka captured the Australian Open in 2014 for his first Grand Slam title, then fell in the semifinals a year later.

Wawrinka, 31, came through on the crucial points Tuesday, converting all three of his break points. Tsonga, meanwhile, finished 1 of 6 on break chances. Wawrinka amassed 14 more winners and committed 11 fewer errors than Tsonga.

“It’s not easy to play against him. He’s a strong player,” Wawrinka said of Tsonga. “I think (the) conditions were quite fast today. It was a bit windy. Not easy to control (the ball).

“(I) started to move a bit better, to be a bit more aggressive from the first shot and I think that’s made the difference.”

The players exchanged words following the opening set, but it wasn’t enough to derail the higher seed.

Wawrinka is in search of a fourth Grand Slam title. After his breakthrough Down Under, he captured the French Open in 2015 and then the U.S. Open in 2016. He is 3-0 in major tournament finals.

The second half of the men’s quarterfinals will be played Wednesday. Eleventh-seeded Belgian David Goffin will face 15th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in an afternoon match (Australian time), and ninth-seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain will oppose third-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada in the evening.

Nadal, the 2009 Australian Open champ, is looking for his second championship in the event. He owns a 14-6 record in major finals. Raonic lost the Wimbledon title match last year, while Dimitrov and Goffin have never appeared in a Grand Slam final